Swiss National Day, and Exploding Toffee!

The past week at KISC has been filled with the arrival of over 1 000 guests who took part in our August 1st and Swiss National Day celebrations! It was definitely the busiest day KISC has seen in a while. Perhaps the statistics from our August 1st BBQ (which saw over 1 200 Scouts fed in a period of 2 hours) is an indication of how many people were sharing in the fun early this week! August 1st this year wasn't only Switzerland's 720th birthday since confederation, but also Scouting's 104th anniversary, so just like someone that has their birthday on Christmas, we had double the fun, and double the celebrations! There was a notably Swiss tint to the day, exhibited by some pretty elaborate "Swiss-themed" costumes that were paraded around at the afternoon carnival on the sports field, and our cheese-fondue tasting booth nicknamed "How Swiss Is This?". In addition to the Swiss atmosphere, however, the diversity of our Staff & guests was celebrated ith a powerful ceremony on the sports field before we paraded into the village. With 1 200 Scouts and Guides in front of the stage, we took the opportunity to recognize each country present, by asking one Scout or Guide from each place to light a candle on our stage. The ceremony was presented in English, Swiss German, Portuguese and Italian, the fervor and excitement was palpable, and it was an excellent opportunity to recognize the true Magic of KISC.

Such an amazing event, however, doesn't happen on it's own. Quite a lot of work went into it actually! Lara Bahr, our International Friendship Assistant worked with our Programme Short Term Staff as well as Pinkies from all across the centre to prepare for the day by dealing with institutions in Kandersteg, booking meals, preparing staff instructions and activities, compiling statistics, and booking in some extra grills for our giant Barbecue. The entire day ended up running very well, and it is no doubt to the hard work in preparation done by Lara and her support staff! Some fun was had a long the way though; catering was surprised by an exploding can of toffee in the kitchen, campsite was greeted in the wood compound by some adorable kittens as well as a mud duty-free August 1st without a single drop of rain. We had an impressive diversity of costumes for the afternoon carnival, including some obscure ones like the "Large Hadron Collider," sported by a member of our staff from the Philippines. It was a startingly accurate representation of the real thing!

August 1st isn't the end of our full schedule, we still have a very busy week ahead with 137 guests going to Jungfraujoch alone! We'll have our busiest time of the year in Catering, and the chalet is fully booked! Perhaps better yet, it looks like the rainy period is now behind us - August 1st received a nice bright and sunny day, and it looks like we'll get some higher temperatures and sunshine over the next week at least! There's no better time than now to make a visit to the Permanent Mini-Jamboree, the International atmosphere here is buzzing, don't miss out!

From The Jamboree:We also have an update from our KISC Team at the World Jamboree in Sweden! Already underway for over a week, KISC's special project of "Knitting For Peace," which allows Jamboree Participants to make knitted woggles out of recycled plastic bags is already a huge success! Donations generated by the sale of the woggles made by KISC Staff & Jamboree Participants go directly to supporting an ex-Pinkie's own project to fight Malaria in Uganda. If you're at the Jamboree, make sure you stop in to see our Pinkies in the Global Development Village! Lou (our PR & Marketing Assistant) has also recently be joined by the Centre's director Myriam for a period of four days.

Awards and Badges

ECO ACTIVITIES

One of the main themes of our Programme the environment is important to all Scouts. We have Guided and Self-Guided Programme as well as the Eco Adventure Room and environmental information around the Centre and Campsite.